Wednesday, Dec. 4, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
New mama Madonna will add another baby to her musical trophy case, this one the Artist Achievement Award at the seventh annual Billboard Music Awards tonight at the Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts.
Madonna will make an appearance to accept the award, which recognizes an artist's popularity, record sales and career accomplishments. She joins Eric Clapton, Janet Jackson and Rod Stewart as the only artists to receive the award.
The show will be taped by the Fox network from 5-7 p.m. locally for playback on KVVU Channel 5 at 8 p.m. It will be hosted by comedian Chris Rock and include appearances by Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Toni Braxton, Alanis Morissette, Tony Rich, Donna Lewis, LL Cool J, Tyra Banks, Vendela, Daisy Fuentes, the Fugees, Edward James Olmos, Antonio Sabato Jr., Keith Sweat, Rod Stewart, Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, "Weird" Al Yankovic, Pauly Shore, Brooks & Dunn, ZZ Top, Engelbert Humperdinck, Wayne Newton and Carlos Santana.
The Billboard Music Awards will open with New Edition performing a live musical number in front of the Hard Rock hotel-casino. The group's new release, "Home Again," features every person who has ever been in New Edition, including alleged angry man Bobby Brown.
The show honors this year's top artists and songs as determined by the record-buying audience and radio air-play statistics. Winners are decided by the 1996 year-end charts compiled from Billboard's weekly charts, published from December 1995 to December 1996.
Contenders for the Billboard Music Awards are those artists who top the Billboard charts, sell the most records and receive the most radio air play.
The French-Canadian Dion ranks as the year's top pop performer thanks to the success of her fourth English-language album, "Falling Into You." Since its release in March, the album has sold more than 13 million copies, and spawned the hit single "Because You Loved Me," which topped Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart for six weeks this past summer.
Braxton is expected to be one of the finalists for this year's Billboard Hot R&B Singles Award. Her second album, "Secrets," debuted on the Billboard chart at No. 2 in July and has spent all but one week in the Top 10. She will perform her chart-topping hit "You're Making Me High/Let It Flow."
Carey will be honored for setting the new record for spending the most weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100 Singles chart. "One Sweet Day," Carey's collaboration with Boys II Men, spent 16 weeks at No. 1. It was only the fourth record to enter the chart at No. 1 and gives her the distinction of being the only artist to have achieved that feat twice.
This year's Century Award, designed to honor artists for career-long distinguished achievement, will go to Santana.
"What's terrific about this year's (ceremony) is the range of music it covers," says Paul Flattery, who will produce the show for the sixth consecutive season. "We've managed to create a great lineup of artists who cut through all the different music genres, from rap to modern rock to country."
Now in its 102nd year, Billboard chronicles the music and home-entertainment industries. Its charts reach more than 200 million people in more than 110 countries weekly.
Introduced in 1894, Billboard was originally devoted to the interests of advertisers, bill posters, printers and organizers of fairs and carnivals. On a sad note, the broadcast will preempt "Beverly Hills 90210" and "Party of Five."
Tickets are $25.50 and $15.50 and available through Ticketmaster (474-4000) and the Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts box office (736-0111).
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